Mother of slain man sues Fox Chapel suspect charged in his killing

The mother of a Verona man whose body was found at a Fox Chapel property months after he went missing in 2019 is suing the man accused of killing him.

T. Lee Rouse, of Verona filed a lawsuit against Adam Rosenberg, 23, on Wednesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. The suit includes claims for wrongful death and severe emotional distress.

Christian Moore-Rouse was 22 when he went missing in December 2019. According to the lawsuit, Moore-Rouse met Rosenberg at Community College of Allegheny County, where they became friends. On Dec. 21, 2019, Rosenberg invited Moore-Rouse to his home in Fox Chapel, the lawsuit said, and shot him.

Investigators said Moore-Rouse was lured to Rosenberg’s home under the pretense of playing video games and smoking marijuana. But shortly after his arrival, police said, Rosenberg shot him in the back of the head and dragged him to a wooded area nearby.

Moore-Rouse’s body was recovered on March 3, 2020.

Rosenberg is separately charged in the Feb. 15, 2020, shooting death of Jeremy Dentel, 28, whose body was found inside his Baldwin home.

Rosenberg was initially deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial and was moved from Allegheny County Jail to Torrance State Hospital for treatment last summer. He remained at Torrance for a few months and has since been found to be competent to stand trial. He is back at the jail, said his attorney, Casey White.

“Adam was served with the lawsuit yesterday, and the family has been made aware,” White said. “They’re taking the appropriate steps to address this civil issue.”

The lawsuit references Rosenberg’s “severe psychiatric illness that led to prolonged inpatient and outpatient treatment.

“All of defendant’s treating mental health professionals advised him it was necessary for him to treat appropriately and take medication in order to control his symptoms, which included a desire to murder those emotionally close to him,” the lawsuit said.

However, the complaint said that Rosenberg failed to follow that advice, including by failing to attend his appointments or take his medication.

“Defendant knew that if he failed and/or refused to undergo the recommended medical treatment, he was likely to become a danger to others, but nevertheless, he negligently failed and/or refused to participate in appropriate treatment of his symptoms,” the lawsuit said.

As a result, it continued, Rosenberg’s symptoms worsened, and he shot Moore-Rouse, and then hid his body.

“As a result, plaintiff experienced the natural fear and severe emotional distress a mother emotionally close to her young adult son would experience between Dec. 21, 2019, and the time the police informed her of their discovery of Christian’s remains.”

Rosenberg is scheduled for trial before Common Pleas Judge Bruce Beemer in January.